$7 Billion Makeover for Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Shipping

 A new study released today reveals that $7 billion is being spent on asset renewal and infrastructure improvements in the bi-national Great Lakes-St. Lawrence shipping system.   The investment survey, compiled by maritime trade consultants, Martin Associates, tallies US$ 6.9 billion in capital spending on ships, ports and terminals and waterway infrastructure. More than $4.7 billion has been invested in the navigation system from 2009-2013 and another $2.2 billion is committed to improvements from 2014-2018. Two-thirds of the capital (67%) was invested by private companies with 33% coming from government funding.  Amongst the most significant investments, American, Canadian and international ship owners are spending $4 billion on renewing Great Lakes-St. Lawrence fleets. Ports and terminals are also collectively investing more than $1.7 billion.   The bi-national Chamber of Marine Commerce, one of the trade associations that commissioned the survey, adds that the right regulatory climate has been key for the flurry of capital expenditures, citing New York State’s decision to not move ahead with unachievable standards for ballast water treatment systems, as a prime example.    Quotes

• Stephen Brooks, President, Chamber of Marine Commerce — “These private and public investments are a tremendous show of confidence in the future of the Great Lakes – Seaway, a transportation gateway facilitating $35 billion in trade and supporting 227,000 jobs in the U.S. and Canada.”
• Vanta Coda, Executive Director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority — “The results of this study confirm that this inland waterway has an attractive return on investment which serves to encourage significant financial outlays by public and private sector alike. At the Port of Duluth-Superior alone, we’ve seen upwards of $40 million of work undertaken by terminals in recent years and another $30 million of infrastructure investment on the horizon for 2015-16. The Port Authority is launching its own redevelopment venture this spring with a $16 million Dock C&D Intermodal Project.”

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